Shri Sai Satcharitra · Chapter epilogue

TL;DRThe Epilogue (Chapter 52 in the original Marathi) is Hemadpant's concluding chapter — left unfinished at his death and published in incomplete form.

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Editor’s note

The Epilogue (Chapter 52 in the original Marathi) is Hemadpant's concluding chapter — left unfinished at his death and published in incomplete form. The original was to include a verse-index of all chapters in Marathi convention; the index was not found among Hemadpant's papers and was composed posthumously by Mr. B. V. Deo, Retired Mamlatdar of Thana. The Gunaji English edition therefore treats this chapter as the Epilogue. Four sections close the book: (1) Greatness of Sadguru Sai — Hemadpant's final hymn to Sai who "besets all animate and inanimate things in the universe… pervades all creatures equally"; the ocean of mundane existence with its crocodile-anger, eddy-egoism, breeze-of-pride, fish-of-jealousy is hard to cross — but the Sadguru is its Agasti (the sage who drank the ocean dry). (2) Prayer for readers — "Let not our mind wander and desire anything except Thee; let this work (Satcharita) be in every house." (3) Fala-Shruti — the canonical promise of reward for study: after bath in the sacred Godavari and darshan of the Samadhi at the Samadhi-Mandir, read or hear the Satcharita; threefold afflictions vanish; the diseased get health; the poor get wealth; specific recommended dates for the parayana — Guru-Pournima (Ashadha full-moon), Gokul-Ashtami, Rama-Navami, and Dasara (Baba's anniversary). (4) Prasad-Yachana — the closing prayer for whole-hearted devotion to Sai's feet. For modern readers the Epilogue is the canonical Satcharitra source for how the book itself is to be used: a daily companion, a weekly parayana, a festival-day reading whose study yields cumulative benefits commensurate with the reader's faith.

Epilogue — Hemadpant's Closing: Greatness of Sai; Prayer; Fala-Shruti; Prasad-Yachana

Source: Shri Sai Satcharitra, trans. Gunaji
Marathi original: Sai Satcharita (archive.org scan) · Devotee testimonies: Narasimha Swami 1936 (Internet Archive) · Full bibliography: /sources.html

URL: https://www.saibaba.org/satcharitra/epilogue.html

Sections

Note on the Chapter's Incompleteness

Hemadpant did not survive to revise this final manuscript. When it was sent to press, Mr. B. V. Deo (Retired Mamlatdar of Thana, who also composed the verse-index of contents) found it incomplete and unintelligible in places — but it had to be published as found. The Epilogue's organization is therefore a reconstruction of Hemadpant's principal closing themes.

Greatness of Sadguru Sai

Hemadpant's closing hymn:

"We prostrate ourselves before and take refuge in that Sai Samartha Who besets all animate and inanimate things in the universe — from a post to God Brahma, pots, houses, mansions and even sky; Who pervades all creatures equally without any differentiation; to Whom all devotees are alike; Who knows not honour and dishonour, like or dislike. If we remember Him and surrender to Him, He fulfills all our desires and makes us attain the goal of life."

The Ocean of Mundane Existence

The metaphor closes the book:

Waves of infatuation beat against the bank of bad thoughts and break trees of fortitude
Breeze of egoism blows forcibly, making the ocean rough
Crocodiles of anger and hatred move fearlessly
Eddies of "I and Mine" and doubts whirl incessantly
Innumerable fishes of censure, hate, jealousy play

"Though this ocean is so fierce and terrible, Sadguru Sai is its Agasti (Destroyer), and the devotees of Sai have not the least to fear of it. Our Sadguru is the boat which will safely take us across this ocean."

(Agasti — the rishi who drank the ocean in the Vedic legend — is Hemadpant's image for the Sadguru who reduces the seemingly infinite samsara to manageable scale for the devotee.)

Prayer

Hemadpant's closing prayer made on the public's behalf:

"Let not our mind wander and desire anything except Thee. Let this work (Satcharita) be in every house and let it be studied daily. Ward off the calamities of those who study it regularly."

Fala-Shruti — The Reward of Study

The canonical instructions for parayana of the Satcharitra:

Preparation: After bathing in the sacred Godavari, after taking darshan of the Samadhi at the Samadhi-Mandir in Shirdi, read or hear the Satcharitra. Threefold afflictions will vanish.

Casual reading: Casually thinking about the stories of Sai, the reader becomes unconsciously interested in spiritual life. If the reader then proceeds with love through the work, sins are destroyed.

To get rid of birth and death: Read Sai's stories; remember him always; get attached devotionally to his feet.

The deepening: "If you dive into the sea of Sai's stories and then give them out to others, you will get an ever-new flavour of them and save the hearers from perdition."

The progression of meditation: "If you go on meditating on Sai's Form, it will in course of time disappear and lead you into self-realization. It is very hard to know or realize the nature of Self or Brahma, but if you approach through the Sagun Brahma (Sai's Form) your progress will be easy."

The completion: "If the devotee completely surrenders himself to Him, he will lose his individuality and be merged in Him and be one with Him, as the river in the sea. If you thus become merged with Him in any of the three states — waking, dream and sleep — you get rid of the bond of samsara."

Specific Reading Programmes

One-week parayana: If anybody after bathing reads this with love and faith and completes it within a week, his calamities will disappear.
Daily reading: If he hears or reads it daily and regularly, all his dangers will be warded off.
By desire: A man wishing for wealth will get it; a pure trader will get success. The reward is according to faith and devotion. Without these, there is no experience.
One chapter daily with concentrated mind: unbounded happiness.

The Festival Dates

"This work should be read at home specially on Guru-Pournima (Ashadha full-moon day), Gokul-Ashtami, Rama-Navami, and Dasara (Baba's anniversary day)."

Hemadpant's Address to the Readers

"Dear good and devoted readers and listeners, we also make our bow to you all and make you a special request. Never forget Him whose stories you have read day by day or month by month. The more fervently you read or listen to these stories, the more encouragement Sai gives us to serve you and be of use to you. Both the author and the readers must co-operate in this work, help each other and be happy."

Prasad-Yachana — Closing Prayer

"May the readers and devotees get complete and whole-hearted devotion to Sai's Feet. May His Form be ever fixed in their eyes and may they see Sai (the Lord) in all beings. Amen."

Bow to Shri Sai — Peace be to all

Verbatim Hemadpant / Sai Baba quotes documented in the Epilogue

(Hemadpant's hymn to Sai) "We prostrate ourselves before and take refuge in that Sai Samartha Who besets all animate and inanimate things in the universe — from a post to God Brahma, pots, houses, mansions and even sky; Who pervades all creatures equally without any differentiation."
(Hemadpant's image of the Sadguru as Agasti) "Sadguru Sai is the ocean's Agasti (Destroyer), and the devotees of Sai have not the least to fear of it. Our Sadguru is the boat which will safely take us across this ocean."
(Hemadpant's prayer for readers) "Let not our mind wander and desire anything except Thee. Let this work be in every house and let it be studied daily. Ward off the calamities of those who study it regularly."
(Reading-method instruction) "If you go on meditating on Sai's Form, it will in course of time disappear and lead you into self-realization."
(Reading-result instruction) "If the devotee completely surrenders himself to Him, he will lose his individuality and be merged in Him and be one with Him, as the river in the sea."
(Festival programme) "This work should be read at home specially on Guru-Pournima (Ashadha full-moon day), Gokul-Ashtami, Rama-Navami and Dasara (Baba's anniversary day)."
(Prasad-Yachana) "May the readers and devotees get complete and whole-hearted devotion to Sai's Feet. May His Form be ever fixed in their eyes and may they see Sai in all beings."

Frequently asked about this chapter

Why is the Epilogue incomplete?

Hemadpant did not survive to revise this final manuscript. When it was sent to press, Mr. B. V. Deo (Retired Mamlatdar of Thana) found it incomplete and unintelligible in places, but it was published as found. Deo also composed the verse-index of contents (in Marathi convention) when the original index was not found among Hemadpant's papers.

When should the Satcharitra be read?

The Epilogue's four canonical festival recommendations: **Guru-Pournima (Ashadha full-moon)**, **Gokul-Ashtami**, **Rama-Navami**, and **Dasara (Baba's anniversary day)**. Beyond festivals: daily reading "with concentrated mind, one chapter daily"; or as a **seven-day parayana** completed within a week after bathing, with love and faith.

What is the recommended preparation for reading the Satcharitra?

"After bathing in the sacred Godavari, after taking darshan of the Samadhi at the Samadhi-Mandir in Shirdi, read or hear the Satcharitra." In practice for devotees who cannot reach Shirdi, the principle is preserved through inner intention: bath, mental darshan, devoted reading.

What is the progression Hemadpant describes from reading to self-realization?

Five stages. (1) **Casual** thinking about the stories awakens an unconscious interest in spiritual life. (2) **Reading with love** destroys sins. (3) **Continuous remembrance** with devotion to Baba's feet liberates from birth and death. (4) **Meditation on Sai's Form** until the form disappears leads to self-realization through the Sagun Brahma. (5) **Complete surrender** brings the merging of the devotee in Baba "as the river in the sea."

What is the "Agasti" image at the end?

Agasti (Agastya) is the Vedic rishi who legendarily drank the ocean dry. Hemadpant uses the image: "Sadguru Sai is the ocean's Agasti." The samsara — with its waves of infatuation, crocodiles of anger, eddies of egoism, fish of jealousy — would be uncrossable except that the Sadguru reduces it to manageable scale. The Sadguru is both the Agasti (who removes the ocean's seemingly infinite character) and the boat (which carries the devotee across what remains).

What does Hemadpant ask of his readers?

"Never forget Him whose stories you have read day by day or month by month. The more fervently you read or listen to these stories, the more encouragement Sai gives us to serve you. Both the author and the readers must co-operate in this work, help each other and be happy." The Epilogue ends not as a closure but as an opening into the practice of continuing parayana.

What is the closing Prasad-Yachana prayer?

"May the readers and devotees get complete and whole-hearted devotion to Sai's Feet. May His Form be ever fixed in their eyes and may they see Sai (the Lord) in all beings. Amen." The chapter — and the book — closes with the formal blessing-petition typical of Sanskrit and Marathi sacred works.

Source: Shri Sai Satcharitra by Govind Raghunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant), 1929. English adaptation by N. V. Gunaji. Original chapter text: saibaba.org/satcharitra/saiepilogue.html. This page is a factual summary with verbatim quotations from the source. We add no commentary attributed to Baba.

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